Various Artists – Sourmash: A Louisville Compilation

A compilation from Louisville, Kentucky? Before you city slickers start laughing up your sleeves, consider this. Sourmash kicks things off with a previously unreleased tune by Will Oldham’s Palace Brothers, and the whole project is held together by Mark Gordon and Wink O’Bannon. Gordon has been an mainstay of the Louisville scene since the late ’70s, and Wink has done some serious time as second guitarist for Chicago’s Eleventh Dream Day. Gordon manages O’Bannon’s band, Bodeco, and they also find time to play together in a group called Grayson Hall. On top of that, many of the aggregates appearing on this disc with Gordon and the O’Bannon clan (Wink, Michael, and Tari) feature musicians who have invigorated Kentucky stalwarts such as Squirrel Bait, Slint, Antietam and Kinghorse.

When you get right down to it, Sourmash is an extra-incestuous musical affair, with artists appearing and reappearing in a number of stimulating combinations. Following Oldham’s opening cameo, the O’Bannons (calling themselves Nod) get right down to business with a haunting ballad in the vein of old Fairport Convention. Peter Searcy’s Starbilly contributes a bracing postpunk ditty that clarifies their position in the forefront of Louisville’s musical illuminati. Hula Hoop, featuring Rachel Grimes, provides an excellent moment of indie-rock reckoning with an eerie composition titled “Spider”. Ethan Buckler and King Kong evoke a dark, swampy mood, and the Barton Boys feature guitar hero Tara Key with two of her bandmates from the original Antietam.

Listening to Sourmash raises one small question: “Why the hell haven’t we heard more about these bands before?” Groups such as Chicken Hawk, Driftin’ Luke, Crab Nebula, Bodeco and Retsin each step forward with imaginative and worthwhile performances. Though a rural, bluesy feel runs through much of this compilation, the art-damaged quality of these strange ensembles offsets any possibility of a typical Southern-rock revival. As it is, Sourmash features a wide range of style and personality, and most of the eclectic sounds can not be casually categorized.

Most valuable player Wink O’Bannon closes the show with a solo rendition of Memphis Slim’s “Havin Fun”, which is exactly what everyone who played on this disc was doing. Like Austin, Seattle, Athens and San Francisco before her, Louisville has been bestowed with an excess of musical creativity. Sourmash it is, hoss, and next time make it a double.